Name: Minneapolis ranked-choice voting explained
Uploaded: 2025-10-30T08:36:12.688Z
Duration: 3 min 5 s
Description: Minneapolis will use ranked-choice voting in its elections next week, but what does that mean?

Minneapolis will use ranked-choice voting in its elections next week, but what does that mean?

Minneapolis

Several cities in Minnesota, including Minneapolis and St. Paul, use ranked-choice voting in local elections, allowing voters to rank candidates by preference. This system, also known as instant runoff voting, eliminates candidates with the fewest votes and reallocates those votes based on voters' next preferences until a candidate secures a majority.

Experts note that ranked-choice voting can provide more options for voters and opportunities for third-party candidates, but ongoing studies are needed to fully assess its effectiveness. Minneapolis was the first city in the state to adopt this system in 2009, and it remains under evaluation as an alternative to traditional voting methods.

Minneapolis ranked-choice voting explained

We're now just days away from election day, and if you live in the city that uses rank-choice voting, make sure you pay attention to our next story. In fact, two of the largest cities in Minnesota use this system. Our Soyoung Kim breaks down how it works and what you need to know before heading to the polls. Neapolis and St. Paul have used rank-choice voting in many local races for more than a decade, where you can choose more than one candidate. Several cities in the metro area have since followed their lead. Five cities in Minnesota hold rank-choice elections. Minneapolis, St. Paul, St. Louis Park, Bloomington, and Minnetonka. So what is rank-choice voting? I get to go vote and I get to rank by preferences for candidates. And if you'll let me share some knowledge, you'll understand this big event. Political science and law professor David Schultz helps us understand its impact. He's in the process of co-editing a book on the system. How does it work? Imagine you went into a restaurant and you asked the restaurant, what's for dinner tonight? And they say, we have chicken, fish, or beef. And you say, ah, my first choice is chicken. And they come back and they say, well, we're out of chicken. What's your second choice? And you say, it's fish. In some sense, that's rank-choice voting. It's also known as instant runoff voting. Minneapolis was the first city in the state to use it in 2009. In Minneapolis, voters can rank up to three candidates. In St. Paul, voters can rank up to six. Let's take a look at how results play out in a single-seat election. For example, let's say there's five candidates in a race. To win, a candidate needs majority, meaning more than 50% of the vote. That could happen after all first-choice votes are counted, and a candidate could win outright. If not, candidates with fewest votes and mathematically can't win will be eliminated. Then it goes to the next round for an instant runoff. In this example, let's say two candidates were eliminated. So, in round two, those ballots votes are transferred over to their second choice, then added up. If a candidate has enough votes to win, it's over. If not, the process of elimination repeats until a candidate wins with a majority. So, what has the impact been? Jean Massey, executive director of FairVote Minnesota, says she's seen rank-choice voting working as it was designed to. Allow more voice for people, more choice on the ballot, let third parties have an opportunity to run. And at the end of the day, the candidate who wins would have a majority of the vote. Schultz says there needs to be more studies looking at this alternative to a more traditional voting system. I still describe rank-choice voting as an experiment. An experiment of which we don't have a final answer yet in terms of is it working or not working overall. And a reminder, election day is Tuesday, November 4th. Reporting in studio, So Young Kim, Fox 9.

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